Hypothyroidism- please share what has helped you.

[NormasArse]

Hi, I’ve just been diagnosed with an under active thyroid, but I’m wavering about taking thyroxine because it’s a lifelong thing.

I do feel crappy all of the time. I sleep more than I’m awake, and after a day at work, I’m often too tired to drive straight away, and need a nap in the car first.

My neck feels constricted and I have all over body pain. I’m also concerned about the rise in my cholesterol.

When I’m not working, I try to walk and swim every day (some days are a write off though).

Alcohol is a complete no now- it makes me really tired, and often sick. That’s not a problem though- I can live without it easily- it’s just showing that something has shifted within me.

My concern is- what if it were suddenly become unavailable, or we moved away from the NHS?

Is there a natural way to get my thyroid to work properly again? Or at least something that means my dose would be minimal?

TIA.

That’s interesting. I have a feeling it will be very hard to get my doctor to test both T3 and T 4. They refuse to test my vit D levels. If I go private, where should I start?

You have a medical deficiency and need medication to get your body into balance. If you were iron deficient would you hesitate to take iron? Or if you were vitamin D deficient etc etc. the difference between having a balanced thyroid level through medication and being underactive is night and day.

I had really badly aching ankles, and felt breathless as though I'd just run a marathon after walking up a flight of stairs. I developed really bad dermatitis on my lower legs and elbows, my fingernails were soft and constantly delaminated (I've normally got really strong nails), and I put on about a stone. Also - my eyebrows got really thin,I couldn't remember anything without writing it down, and felt really anxious.

I realised the levothyroxine wasn't working as I had to go to hospital for something unrelated and my resting heartbeat was 45bpm - that's what you'd expect from a super fit professional athlete, not a woman who struggled to climb a single flight of stairs. A consultant came round with some med students and they stood discussing why my heart rate was so slow, putting it down to insufficient thyroid medication, given my medical history. Yet I'd just been told by my GP that my T4 level was 24 so my medication needed reducing... I got a private consultation, went on Erfa and felt 100 times better within 10 days. It took about 10 weeks to lose that stone, too. My NHS consultant now accepts that I won't budge on my thyroid medication - I did do a trial of switching back to Levo a few years ago just to please him and felt awful. Never again.

This really rings a bell with me. Can I ask how you found a private practitioner?

I forgot(!) brain fog lol. And backache, though I'm not sure if that's connected but I really hope so as that's the worst symptom!

I have been taking 100mcg thyroxine for 22 years. I don’t give it a second thought. It’s a nice bonus that all my medicine is free, even the testosterone element of HRT which is not covered by the HRT pre payment. No symptoms. Just a blood test annually.

@MeridaBrave so does the levo bring the TSH down to optimal levels and then settle there? How do you stop from going hyper? Not entirely sure how it all works with the different amounts of levo people are on.

I’m 59 and on HRT. I did bleed quite heavily last week, and have been referred for whatever the camera thing is called next week (sorry-can’t think!). I’m guessing that’s why I felt so irritated.

Bloody hormones!!

I have terrible backache!

I take ERFA thyroid which is natural desiccated thyroid. ( this is what was actually prescribed to hypothyroid patients many years ago before much cheaper, artificial thyroxine I.e. levothyroxine was widely used )
After struggling on Levo for many years with T3 readings through the floor & GP telling me I was over medicated (as my TSH was suppressed) I decided to go private and it’s made such a difference.
My anxiety has very much improved . I’m not permanently tired and my hair
and nails no longer fall out/ off. My skin was so dry it looked like a snake’s and I’ve lost over 2.5st -“ and no longer have to virtually starve myself to maintain a healthy weight.I just feel alive again
Mr GP has been incredibly supportive of me going private but sadly cannot / will not prescribe the medication on the NHS.

Ah so maybe it is connected then? It's horrible isn't it! I was just feeling better these past few weeks then did some cleaning and it started up again. It's not really my lower back so not sure if it can be from poor posture. Hopefully when I get my TSH down to optimal levels it'll go away. Hope you can get some relief from it as well. It is not nice.

Heavy periods are a symptom of hypothyroidism

Yes annual blood tests TSH usually around 1.

Stop being silly and take the thyroxine. Be thankful that you live in a time when it’s available and you have been offered it.

Levothyroxine

the end

Bloody hell it just be frustrating living with you op

moping around about how shit you feel, but not willing to take the hormone that will definitely make you feel better if not completely normal again.

Has the dr given even one reason why the dr is hesitating aside from “you’ll be on it for life”?

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-happens-when-you-dont-take-your-thyroid-meds-3233274

the long term damage that you can do not taking the medication

You’ll feel far better within yourself in 8 weeks and the situation isn’t going to rectify itself

It’s not going away and delaying taking the tablets isn’t going to help

Yes because OP is ill, it’s what is making her so frustrating, she says herself she is irritable. Op has all the classic signs of thyroid not working, but thinks it’s something you can heal naturally.

Yes
precisely my point

OP is moping around because she has hypothyroidism (well who knows, might be a moper even when healthy)
so if you want to stop feeling shit, go on the hormone
natural my arse

Natural my arse 😂

tell that to your pituitary gland

Please tell me where you went to get the ERFA because I’m sure this is my problem too.

My pituitary gland would agree with me when I say “natural my arse”

Levothyroxine isn’t “artificial thyroxine” @Blogswife

I think I just Googled - when I first took it you could just buy it online without prescription from Canada (!). Once that was quite rightly cracked down on I got my first prescription via Dr Marion Gluck in London but now my GP just gives me a private prescription and I send it to a pharmacy in Leicester or Bristol and they dispense it and send it out via courier.

Erfa etc are made of pork thyroid (something to consider if you have religious / moral objections to ingesting animal / pork products) and their composition can vary a bit (so more T3 or T4 per tablet). That's why doctors prefer to give levothyroxine as it's made in a controlled environment and every dose is the same. You can get synthetic T3 but it's expensive for the NHS so there's a reluctance to prescribe it. Plus I think there was a NICE analysis a while ago that said the benefits of T3 weren't clear, and a lot of GPs have latched onto that.